Nadia Mercader studied biology and is now a professor at the Faculty of Medicine. Even during her studies, she was fascinated by the questions that went beyond textbooks – and they pushed her to make a contribution to science herself. “To contribute a grain of sand to the wealth of knowledge,” as she sees it. With her research focus on heart regeneration and development, she is researching animal models to understand the human body better – an area in which there are still many unanswered questions.

Her scientific career has taken her to many places, which she finds enriching. “My motto is to learn something new every day – and that is exactly what science offers me: the opportunity to constantly contribute time and again and to learn from different people,” she says. After stays in Zurich, Madrid, Dresden, and Heidelberg, she has found a permanent place at the University of Bern and appreciates being able to pursue her projects over longer periods of time.

As a biologist, she sometimes feels like a strange foreigner in medicine – a role she sees as an advantage: “I like being in an environment that is slightly different from me,” she emphasizes. The interdisciplinary exchange not only inspires her research, but also her work with students, who she wants to convey her joy of learning new things to. “And who knows – maybe one day I’ll study medicine myself,” she adds with a grin.